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WORLD NEWS A11
Tuesday 12 April 2016

Police hunt suspects in India temple fire that killed 110

A cyclist rides past damaged structures at the spot where a sands for a religious festival. people — missing temple injured out from under slabs
massive fire broke out during a fireworks display at the Puttingal Police detained five work- board members and asso- of concrete and twisted
temple complex in Paravoor village, Kollam district, southern ers for questioning about ciates of firework contrac- steel girders. They were tak-
Kerala state, India, Monday, April 11, 2016. fireworks stored at the site, tors — for possible charges en to hospitals in the Kerala
hoping to learn more about of attempted murder and state capital of Thiruva-
(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) who owned the fireworks culpable homicide, both nanthapuram, about 60
and who had contracted punishable by life imprison- kilometers (37 miles) south
the pyrotechnical display, ment, and illegally storing a of Paravoor, as well as the
police constable R. Unni- cache of explosives. nearby city of Kollam.
krishnan Nair said. The five The death toll from the di- “We are just trying to calm
were later released, but saster stood at 110, with them down so that they
Nair did not say whether more than 380 injured, in- can give us the informa-
they were able to help au- cluding many with burn in- tion, with which we can
thorities track down any of juries and others hurt when help them find their miss-
the 15 temple board mem- an adjacent building stor- ing relatives,” said K. Shijil,
bers who fled after the ac- ing fireworks collapsed, po- a help-desk worker at the
cident. lice said. Following the fire, hospital who was giving
The Press Trust of India news which broke out around 3 out emergency kits that
agency reported that po- a.m. Sunday, villagers and included a towel, clothes,
lice were investigating six police pulled many of the drinking water and cookies.

AIJAZ RAHI ern India.
Associated Press Amid the burned wreckage
PARAVOOR, India (AP) — of the Puttingal Devi tem-
Medical teams on Mon- ple complex in the village
day tended to hundreds of of Paravoor, rescue officials
people injured in a massive sifted through huge piles of
fire that killed at least 110 dust, wood and concrete
people, while authorities for clues about how an un-
searched for those respon- authorized pyrotechnic dis-
sible for illegally putting on play staged before dawn
the fireworks display that Sunday sparked a fire that
caused the weekend blaze swept through the temple
at a Hindu temple in south- as it was packed with thou-

Somalia: At least 5 killed in
bomb blast at a restaurant

ABDI GULED said Abdillahi Hassan, a tai-
Associated Press lor, who witnessed the at-
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) tack.
— A car bomb exploded Al-Shabab, which has ties
on Monday outside restau- with al-Qaida, has been
rant packed with lunch- carrying out a campaign
time customers in the So- of deadly violence target-
mali capital of Mogadishu ing government officials
killing at least five people, and international troops, as
including school children, well as hotels and restau-
said witnesses. rants in the capital.
After the blast, a young girl The restaurant in the capi-
was crying outside the res- tal’s Hamarweyne district is
taurant screaming “where close to the municipal gov-
is my sister?” before finding ernment headquarters and
her bloodied body lying in a busy commercial area.
next to a burnt out car. Another witness, Moham-
“Now, their attacks are ran- med Mahdi, said he saw at
dom regardless of whether least five people covered
it’s in a public place or a in blood outside the restau-
government institution,” rant.